Here's a place where assigning in a list context and using array slices is neato. You could try this:

my  ($rpt_name, $desname, $btch, $record) = @ARGV[0..3];
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which is a compact way of doing what your code already does.

Now, as to functional matters, the first thing I noticed is that the qw() does not interpolate, so all you'll ever get are the names of your arguments in there. So that qw()won't do.

Here's a good rule to live by: when you're generating strings and then passing them to system calls, print those strings out when you're not getting the behavior you desire, at least during development. If you'd done that, you'd notice that the command you're attempting to execute isn't going to work.

As for fixing that, you're better off with something like:

# following the above
my @args= ("path/to/prog", "report=$rpt_name" , ...);
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for creating the @args array.

However, when you put the double-quotes around that array, you're defeating the purpose of passing an array to system, because quoting turns the array into a string. So, if you follow the above advice, you should be making the call like so:

#get rid of $retval, too, unless you need it
system(@args) and die "System failed: $?\n";
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HTH!